by Jeffrey Zeldman
New Riders, June, 2003.
Trade Paperback, 436 pages.
ISBN: 0735712018

Jeffrey Zeldman is tough on people who
use too much code. In fact, he is adamant
that web developers move away from the
clumsy design practices that originated
during the browser wars. Zeldman's book
even has a chapter entitled, "99.9% of Websites
Are Obsolete." He is tough on websites
like Amazon.com and Yahoo.com that waste
bandwidth by using out-dated imperfect
code that can be replaced with much less code
by following web standards. Fortunately for
webmasters, Zeldman's book offers solutions
for cutting back on the excess code and
using standards that are forward compatible --
meaning they will work now as well as in the future. Cutting back on the amount of code can save web developers bandwidth -- which can save money. Zeldman encourages web developers
to dump the old tags and nested tables by explaining that "the days of browser incompatibility are gone." His book includes instructions, advice and suggestions
for what to do. Zeldman also gives example code and instructions for using XML, XHTML,
CSS and offers numerous tips for working with different browsers. His latest book is a must-have for any web developer trying to leave his clumsy web design past behind. You might not agree 100% with everything Zeldman has to say but you will definitely learn something and find some coding mistakes to correct.
Designing With Web Standards is available for purchase on
Amazon.com
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This review was published in the November-December, 2003 of The Internet Writing Journal.
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